Dangerous Bonds
by II Renegade II
Summary: AU: On her 20th birthday, Sakura Haruno receives a slave for a present.At first the problem was his violent nature, but soon enough, before any of the two would realize,their lives changed for the worst.Rated for sexual themes, violence and other aspects.
1. Two in a werehouse

AU: hey there! This is a sasusaku master slave fic. Moar info on the bottom.

Summary: Sakura Haruno receives a slave as a present for her 20th birthday and she has trouble dealing with him. Mostly because he seems to be a little rebellious towards her. Still, there is more to find out, as the slave and the master will soon find themselves in a very complicated situation.

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><p><strong>Prologue and Chapter 1 - The Encounter<strong>

There are times in our daily lives when we are forced to do things of which we aren't sure of, things which are meant to end up badly. Sakura Haruno learned it the hard way encountering pain, cries, screams and tears until that part of her life ended. The bad thing is that not only her life changed, but she managed to change another life in irreversible ways, and that might as well be the only thing she truly regrets and hates herself for doing. Sometimes she comforts herself, saying that it wasn't entirely her fault, that she never knew what she started or what was going to happen next, but then she realized there is no excuse, and the punishment was fair and square. However, there still was hope to look up to, because the other life she had managed to mess up belongs to a person who would always be by her side, sharing the same fate, pain, tears and screams as her, eve if her green eyes are somehow blind to it. Amazing how the little details can mean so much. How some apparently insignificant things can change the course of events.

To understand what her green eyes had seen, there is an entire history to unfold. It all started in a waiting room.

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><p>Sakura Haruno concentrated on the lyrics as she tapped the rhythm of the song on her leg. She sat down on the sofa, eying the receptionist with bored eyes and waiting for someone to notice her. Thank god she had taken her ipod with her, otherwise she would have died from boredom in this place. Apparently, printing and filling up the slave possession documents took more than she expected.<p>

Actually, that made her wonder yet again, why was she waiting in line to have those papers prepared so that she could go browse through the market? Funny how that thought always slipped her mind. Well, they say that in the modern society they lived in, having a personal assistant was a necessity. However, it seemed that over the last ten years the term dropped down to slave, and so did the status of each 'personal assistant'. So, there she was, waiting to purchase her 20th birthday present from her parents. Frankly, she would have been happy with a brand new, ultra modern laptop, but her old folks decided it was time she matured and take responsibility for another human being. Yes, her parents were of those people, who still treated their slaves as human beings, as most people just impaled their minds with the thoughts that such people weren't people, but simple bags of flesh and bones meant to do whatever their masters wanted.

On the other side, Sakura was quite oblivious to the whole slavery things. Never did she want a slave nor did she protest against their usage. She simply knew they existed and went on with her life. So, it was quite obvious that she wasn't all that happy to be there. If her parents wanted her to be more responsible, why not get her a dog or cat or fish or something like that? Well, maybe because they had enough money to invest in a slave for their daughter.

Sakura opened her eyes and stared at the small screen of her ipod as another song started to play. A one which was a bit too cheery to fit her current mood so she simply turned the device off and took off her headphones, observing the reception yet again. Funny how a slave warehouse could be this clean. She heard stories of the horrible conditions they were being 'taken care of' from her friends, but the complete white room with fluorescent lighting and comfortable black leather couches wasn't what she expected. The only thing she found ugly was the old receptionist which kept ignoring her for the last 30 minutes. Sakura wasn't overreacting saying that she had the face of a hippo, and that was the good thing. Because she also had the body of a hippo. Fat and neglected. The young woman shuddered; these kind of people made growing old very frightening.

Going back to her thoughts, Sakura remembered what she told the woman when she asked what her preferences would be. She hadn't thought much and said she wanted a 22 to 25 male with an athletic figure, although she only said the last part because she saw the obese receptionist. Still, Sakura felt somehow awkward; there weren't fat slaves on the market, because most of them received enough food to live from one day to another, so she hadn't rejected the funny look she received from the worker. It was then when she was told to take a seat and wait.

And she waited and waited and waited until she finally grew bored. The situation itself wasn't helping, waiting to buy a slave. It sounded somehow wrong and Sakura didn't fully liked it; she thought the process would be much simpler but nooooo…they had to made sure she wouldn't blame the Warehouse maintenance if her slave would die within 7 days after purchasing it, or that they held no responsibility if it had a mortal illness, or that she will not have any request for food to feed it and all that crap. Sakura watched people come and go but until that very moment none seemed to have a freshly bought slave with them, so maybe it was the curiosity which kept her in her seat all that time.

She knew it wouldn't be too long before she would loose all her patience, but before she could fully realize it, the hippo lady called in her grumpy old voice.

"Haruno. Sakura?"

"Yes," she immediately responded, grabbing her purse and getting up from her seat.

"A worker will now take you to the market area." The woman pointed at a man in his mid 30s dressed with white medical-like attire which eyed Sakura's green eyes expectantly. The pink haired woman said nothing more and followed him inside an elevator, the sound of her heels echoing in the large saloon as she walked.

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><p>The elevator descended two floors before the heavy metal doors opened and the worker which accompanied her pulled another set of fence doors open. The view down there drastically changed to the point Sakura wondered if it was the same building.<p>

There was a very tall room which was too long for the young woman to approximate its length. It was almost like a hallway, with a path of brownish marble on the center meant for the possible customers to walk on while their browse their options; the cages with slaves on either sides of the path. The cages were relatively small, big enough to allow whoever was inside to sit in a fetal position and raise only a few inches on their feet. But that wasn't exactly what struck her in first place, it was the atmosphere.

The 'hallway' was barely lit by a few sick yellowish lights which gave the impression that everything around her was either brown or gray in color and her ears only captured the constant moans and screams of the slaves. A cold shiver went down her spine, the change was rather sudden. Compared to how comfortable she felt in the white leather couch up in the waiting room, this might as well be hell itself. Sakura gulped as she heard the man besides her chuckle.

"This is your first slave, right?" he asked bemused. She turned and nodded her head and tried to smile.

"Yeah, I've never been to such a place before." She said in a small voice, trying to sound less shocked.

"It's quite obvious." The man took out of his pocket a slim flashlight and turned it on, a distinct white neon light appearing and dancing on the floor. "Here, to have a better look at the products. I can come suggest some of them which you might like."

"It's fine, thank you. I'll browse them myself." Sakura replied quickly. The next second she began to wonder why she had refused his help. There was no hiding the fact that she felt a bit anxious down there.

"I'll be waiting here." He said and she went off, walking slowly and pointing the flashlight at some slaves which seemed to peak her interest.

Much to her surprise, she didn't knew how to react at the slaves. Some of them covered their faces right after she pointed the light at them, others would stare amazed into it. Some slaves moaned and rose their hands in her direction asking for salvation while others screamed and yelled in fright. As far as she knew all of them were men her age, or a little older, but she figured out that slavery made them look much older. Or maybe it was the dirt on their bodies, or the lack of decent clothes, or the look in their eyes. Somehow the woman felt bad for being in the position of choosing one of them. If it was for her, she would turn on her heels and get the hell out of there. Well, yeah, maybe it wasn't actually the guilt she felt, but the disgust and fear. Yes, Sakura was scared to be among those slaves. She almost felt like she was in a jail, not a slave market.

Actually, the young woman was just about to abandon her search after walking less than half the total length of the corridor, but then something caught her eyes. Somewhere, on her left there was a cage which had a small green light on, a sign that the cage was occupied. But she saw no movement inside which could betray the presence of a slave in there. So, out of curiosity she approached the cage and hunched down, pointing the light inside in search of life.

And there was something alive in there. Or better said someone. Another slave was crawled up in a corner with his head on his knees and his arms wrapped tightly around her legs. The light wasn't that strong so it barely lit his figure, Sakura had to look carefully at his figure. To bad his black ripped clothes and his black hair made looking at him so difficult. She moved the light from one side to the other, trying to get him to move, but with no result.

"Hey," she called out towards him but she received no reaction. "Why aren't you doing anything over there?"

The figure before her stiffed, moving only an inch or so from his position.

"Hello, I'm talking to you. At least look at me." She tried again, but her voice was far from being gentle and warm. Sakura had to admit to herself, somehow she tried to sound somehow more authoritative. After all, she was a possible master and this was a slave. And much to her surprise, the man before her moved. His arms dropped by his sides, he rose his head from his knees and leaned backwards, now having his back against the bars of his cage.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" Sakura asked again, but she received no answer. So she moved the light on his newly exposed face only to bring into her attention his black spiky hair and the paleness of his skin. Anything other than that was still hidden, as his head was lowered, blocking any view upon his eyes. Only the slightly parted lips between he exchanged breaths of air with the outside world was visible. But Sakura felt something twitching in her gut as she continued to stare at him. There was something about this man which troubled her a little. Even if his eyes weren't visible, she could feel a death glare opening wide holes in her body, as if his eyes, even if covered by messy bangs of spiky black hair could see inside her and read her like a book.

"Why arent you talking back to me?" she asked him again, even if by this time she subconsciously realized that there was no answer she would receive anytime soon. But still, she asked the thin air around her just because she felt the need to break the silence between herself and her slave. Yes, silence, because as she stood there, knelt down to be at the slave's level there was nothing else she heard or felt. Her whole attention was directed towards this young man.

Sakura wasn't sure but she liked to think that this man too was sharing the same amount of attention with her as she did with him. There was no denying that out of all slaves she had saw this was the only one which actually gave her signs of having a brain. But he done it without using words or screams or gestures like the others did, but by simply ignoring her. However, this frightened her into giving him more of her attention. Why she did so, she had not even the slightest clue.

Still, there was no denying that she was knelt in front of him, or better said, in front of his cage, her mind both empty and filled with a hundred thoughts at the same time. Slaves were creatures meant only to serve their masters. None should receive such interest as she was giving the man before her eyes. She watched him as he tried to straighten himself only to crawl slowly towards her figure. Before she realized it, he was right there gripping the bars with pale, bruised hands which showed every single fragile bone on his hand's complexion.

The young woman allowed the softest of gasps to be heard; when did he actually get that close? Was she dozing off or what? For that mere second, Sakura managed to re-memorize where she was and why she was there, just to feel pleased with herself and give her mind a little refresh. She then pointed the flashlight at his face and took in his hidden features. And despite the dirt, bruises and dried blood she had to admit to herself it was one of those faces she would only see only in a life time. He had a well defined outline of his face and a very masculine jaw line. His cheekbones were abnormally pointy, probably due to starvation, and his lips were thin and dry. But what truly struck Sakura were the eyes. Black and deep, crowed by narrowed eyebrows, they made her widen her own green eyes and lean in a few millimeters, as if to stare better at him.

He man had a beautiful face and it made her wonder why was he there, when he had the posture of a master, not a slave. The light was still pointed at his face, making his pale skin look even paler, sending chills down Sakura's back.

There were many things the young woman wanted to ask him, but she was too lost to verbalize her thoughts. When he tilted his head slowly at one side, allowing more of his black bangs to cover parts of his face, she had the urge to back off. Yet she never did it. She kept still even when a pale, mutilated hand left its grip on the bars and slowly extended in her direction. Only then she realized that the two of them were closer than an arm's reach. Sakura panicked.

But then something she never expected happened.

He spoke.

"why aren't _you_ doing anything?"

His voice was smooth, but he said it so much hatred and disgust it made Sakura's stomach twitch. Hundreds of hairs on her body stood as a shiver traveled thought every single part of her. Silent anger, venom, hate, madness, she couldn't name what she just heard in his words, but it made her eye go wider and her lips to part as the air which came in and out her lungs wasn't enough to keep her conscious.

In her shock, Sakura forgot to realize how close his was hand now. He could have touched her face if he wanted to, but no. He head heading for her throat. What would seem like a normal couple of seconds, for the pink hair woman lasted longer that she wished for. A clear moment in which her heart rate doubled as he green eyes watched black ones narrowing more and his otherwise stoic figure morphed into anger.

He would grab her. He would grab her by the throat and choke her, hold her until she wouldn't be able to breathe anymore.

It was all she felt and knew in those moments. That he was eager to kill her.

When suddenly a strong hand grabbed her from her shoulder and dragged her backwards until she fell on her butt.

"What the fuck ya doing! Back off you piece of crap! Back off!" the worker whom had brought her down there yelled as he kicked the cage with his leg multiple times. The slave inside it grunted and backed off quickly, returning to his corner hunched but still glaring. Soon enough he hid his face. Returning to the position he had before Sakura disturbed him.

Outside the cage, Sakura was catching her breath.

"Miss, are you alright?" the man asked as he helped her get on her own two legs. Sakura brought a hand over to her forehead and rubbed her temples a little.

"Yes, I am fine." She managed to say, trying to sound cool and collected. "Just a little headache." She lied.

"did this shit do something to you?" he asked her.

"No, I only asked him a few questions." Sakura released herself from the man's grip and started to dust herself up a little.

"No offense miss, but some slaves are really fucked up and-"

"no offense either sir, but watch your language." The young woman cut him off quickly. The slave might have been a pain in the ass for some, but she didn't need to hear the dirty words which came out his mouth. And it seemed he realized what she meant. It wasn't that she tried to protect the slave, she was disgusted whenever she heard men talking to women like the worker did. Running a hand over his bald head, the man changed the subject.

"anyway, which one would you like?"

Sakura thought less than a moment and answered him quickly.

"This one." She pointed at the cage of the man who made an attempt to choke her. After a few second's silence in which she received confused stares, she got her answer. Which was a question.

"This one?" he asked incredulously. "You want Hanseki? Miss I am sorry to tell you this, but he's not fitted for a first slave."

"Hanseki?" Sakura asked while rising an eyebrow. The man nodded.

"That's how we call it, since it aint got a name."

"Really… And why isn't he fit for a slave?" Sakura's curiosity grew bigger. The worker before her eyes seemed to have difficulties in explaining the situation to her.

"He's a bit of a problem, since most people who bought him sold it back to us. Apparently he can get a little violent and, even with the collar, most masters didn't felt safe with him in their house." He explained it quickly and loud, making the woman wonder if it wasn't bothering him that the slave was hearing what he was saying.

Still hearing that the slave was rather violent wasn't something Sakura was happy about. After all, she merely experienced on her own skin how he can react. The idea of having a murderer in her house wasn't appealing either. The scenery of her being stabbed with a fork in her sleep wasn't something she would wish for. Overall, there was no reason why she would take that man to be her own slave, as even the worker recommended that she would still browse the cages.

Yet..

"It doesn't matter. I'm still buying him."

She must have gone mad.

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><p>Back in the main hall, at the reception Sakura had just finished a 15 minutes round of signing papers and filling other paperwork in order to complete the transaction. The money from her parent's bank account was withdrawn and the deal was officially. The slave wasn't as expensive as she initially thought; it was less than a quarter the sum she paid for her car. However, she made sure she purchased a very effective collar with a remote; a leash and an electroshock gun in case anything went wrong. As she shook hands with the receptionist, Sakura began to wonder what the hell had she just done.<p>

She was told that her slave would come in soon, and she took those minutes to rethink her actions. Yet again fate proved her that she acted before she had the chance to think. And, as she sat on the white leather couch, Sakura searched for her ipod and played a metal song, so release some of the stress she induced herself.

To think that getting a slave was this complicated. And she wasn't into slavery that much.

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><p>Somewhere else in the warehouse, two workers were pushing a young man in what seemed to be a shower room. One of them closed the door as the other pushed a few buttons on the control panel. The next second pained screams were heard from inside the cabin.<p>

"The hell? Are you using the jet spray again?" the other asked him. He only shook his head.

"so what if I'm using it? It's not like we have enough money to waste warm water on the junk." He said nonchalantly as he pressed another buttons. The sound of the water stopped and a fizzing noise replaced it, along with a different set of screams and grunts.

"Oh, the alcohol treatment." The other remarked. "Is it that damaged it needs disinfection?"

"you know all of them are filthy. What would our clients say if they would get a septic slave?"

"You're right."He sighed. "Actually, double up that treatment. It stank like hell when we brought it here. I'll go get some clothes."

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><p>About 20 minutes later, Sakura was called at the desk again and invited to pic up her newest property. She got up and walked around the corner where two people struggled to keep the slave on his own two feet as a third man was tying the collar around his throat. It was the same slave, she was sure of that, but something seemed different at him. Despite the fact he was cleaner and dressed, not to mention the terrible smell of medical alcohol, Sakura couldn't help but notice how soft his entire figure was. His eyes were half closed and his body seemed wobbly. His mouth hanged open and a small chocking noise was heard when the collar was tightened around his neck. She only noticed that his hands were shackled. Overall, there was no denying. The man looked like hell, broken, damaged, humiliated. Sakura started to regret her choice.<p>

One of the men finally noticed her.

"Oh, Miss Haruno, right?" she nodded. "we got him cleaned up. Congratulations for your newest acquisition." And with that the slave was pushed forward towards her and another man handed her the leash tied to his collar. The man was hunched and seemed to be very dizzy.

"what happened to him?" Sakura asked with slightly narrowed eyes. She wasn't pleased to see her new slave like that.

"We fed him some morphine, but he'll come back into his senses in an hour or two." She was told dryly.

Oh, so they drugged him. Why would they do that?

The woman didn't waited for another set of questions and answers and simply saluted the staff , grabbed her documents and left the warehouse with her wobbly slave following her about two steps behind.

The rest is history; she shoved him in the backseat of her car and he immediately fell on his side, never saying not even one word to her as she drove to her apartment. Still, maybe it was better that way. She would understand him now; he was drugged and just got out of his cage. She would allow him to rest now. But hopefully, now that she got herself a slave, she could actually put him to do some chores around the house. Her life would be better from now on; she would have more time for herself, to relax and to read a good book, and will catch up with her studies. And maybe even start going out with her friends. Never did she admit, but the pink haired young woman was indeed a workaholic. But that was going to change, that's what she thought.

However, she did thought a little bit of her slave, more than she would have liked. The man called him Hanseki, meaning 'the result of rebellion'.

Rebellion.

Inwardly, that word continued to echo inside her mind over and over again, making Sakura loose focus while driving several times, much to her own displeasure. Well, judging the way the man assaulted her when he was still in his cage, she shouldn't have been that surprised he was called like that. It made her wonder for the tenth time if this slave would prove to be a mistake. Well, if that happened she would take him back and leave him to rot in a cage, it wasn't like she actually cared too much what his fate would be.

As much as she hated to admit, those thoughts were a little forced.

In theory, if anything went bad, she would bring him back and forget the whole thing. Hanseki was wearing his collar and she had the remote. And he even had shackles and she had that stupid gun to protect herself if anything went bad. But what were the odds of him turning against his master? Sakura heard of very few slaves to rebel, so the chances of that happening to her were slim. Slim enough to ignore.

Yet, she couldn't manage to ignore them.

Instead she started to feel a little nervous about spending every single day with the man in her own house.

And she couldn't banish the thought that something she couldn't predict will happen.

From the backseat, the young woman heard chocking sounds. She only turned a little bit to find that her slave was awake and vomiting whatever his stomach contained on the floor of her car, coughing and breathing raspy. At the moment she felt disgusted and was that close to punish him in that very moment. But she dropped the idea once Hanseki dropped back in his semi conscious state.

Sakura only gulped and accelerated towards her apartment.

She had no idea of what she got herself into.

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><p>AU:<p>

**Hello there friends! It's me again, Rene ^^**

I know, i know, i have two other stories on which havent been uploaded, but the holy inspiration hit me hard and i decided to make a sasusaku master-slave fanfic. Because i read some both on this site and on other sites and i havent really liked any of them. so, here you go, the story behind Sakura Haruno, the mistress and Sasuke Uchiha the slave x3

Hope this will turn out well. I promise to update this regularly, so might as well add this to your story alert. also, if you would please review, it would make me really happy ^^ Not to mention, i will push me to write more! I need a little push too, you know... I mean, its not like i'm the most confident person ever...

Anyway, hope you liked it. In the next chapter things will start moving for real! Please review!

P.S. Hanseki = result of rebellion (jap.)


	2. Two in an apartment

Chapter 2 – two in an apartment.

The next day Sakura woke up oddly early, feeling oddly tired. The clock on her nightstand showed 6:37, but she remained in her bed for another half of hour or so, re-memorizing the day before as if it was a fading dream.

Sakura reached her apartment relatively late, as it was dark when she finally managed to park her car in a secure place. However, when she turned to check on her slave she only saw his sleeping figure. Shaking and yelling in his ear done nothing, he was out cold, so the only way to move him out of her car was taking him out of there herself. she thanked the gods so many times there was no one to see her, so she finished her task quickly, dragging on the ground the man, and pushing him in the elevator then up on the third floor where her apartment was located. Once she unlocked the door, Sakura literately threw his body in the hallway and left him there, on the floor before changing in her pjs and falling asleep.

Now that she thought of it, she acted quite…well, she didn't knew if there was a word to describe how she acted, but she was sure it wasn't quite right what she just did. First of all, she dragged her slave out of her car and into her house. She _dragged _him. And left him on the 'welcome' carpet asleep. And then she went to sleep herself. As she rolled on her stomach, she remembered what the man from the warehouse said, about him being violent and unpredictable. For a moment the imagine of the same boney hand which went though the bars yesterday chocking her while she was asleep made the young woman shudder and grab the sheets tighter. Her green eyes involuntary checked the door to see if it was opened. She even stared over the bed, on the floor to see if there was a sleeping slave down there.

But no. She was alone. And apparently, she was still alive.

Still, to think of it, she wasn't exactly alone anymore. Since last night she started to share her own personal space with a slave. Even though slaves weren't considered persons, it still felt strange. It felt as if her privacy risked to be violated at any moment.

As Sakura continued to think of that matter, she realized that she actually slept a deep a dreamless sleep while in the hallway was another human being. The woman's throat suddenly dried when she realized that she wouldn't actually sleep like that ever again. Last night she was too tired to acknowledge her current situation, but now, as she laid there on the bed, crawled and gripping the sheets as if her life depended on it, it all sank down to her.

Probably that was the second thing which motivated her rise from her bed. The first thing was the need to shower.

Sakura stepped out of her room and for the first time in her life checked both ends of the hallway, as if wanting to make sure the coast was clear. Quickly, she entered the bathroom and locked the door twice behind her. The shower was warm, not hot, and refreshing, but it still hadn't managed to wash away her doubt and slight anxiety. Also, she finished it quickly and, following the same routine of checking both ends of the hallway, she went in her room, her body covered only by a towel.

To think of all those old horror movies where the murderer strikes when a young girl is showering and how everyone says they are fake and unrealistic. Well, for some reason Sakura couldn't banish the image of a knife's shadow on her shower curtain.

She also changed at an accelerated rate, in a simple pair of shorts and a tank top before creeping slowly out of her room yet again. Even if she didn't like the idea, it was time to check on the slave.

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><p>The hallway of her apartment had the form of an "L" and last night Hanseki was dropped around the corner, in front of the entrance on the 'welcome' carpet. Half of Sakura was expecting to find the slave in the same position she left him, but the other half of her couldn't help but make her whole body tremble lightly at the thought that he might not be there. The young woman walked slowly, feeling with each step the coldness of the floor under her bare feet. Again, she was extra cautious analyzing each sound she heard and calculating her steps and breaths like never before. Underneath her clothes, her skin was burning hot, making even her still wet hair feel much colder then it actually was.<p>

Sakura took one last deep breath before slowly reaching a hand and grabbing the corner of the hallway, before slowly peaking her head around it.

Hanseki was still there. And he was awake.

The warm light of the spring sun cascaded all the way from the kitchen window on the floor of the hallway and into the features of the black haired slave.

He sat motionlessly with his back against the wall opposite to the kitchen with his head thrown back and his body relaxed. Or maybe numb, Sakura couldn't tell for sure. The image might have looked quite peaceful at first, but then she took in the details. The way his still shackled wrists laid on his lap, the abnormal angle his head and neck had as they were tilted too far on his right..it were those details which made her mouth dry and she found herself gulping only air anxiously. Upon further observation, Sakura's green eyes noticed how Hanseki's long and pale fingers touched each other, making the chain which held his hands together rattle lightly.

But what truly disrupted the young woman was the man's expression. Black eyes were half closed, staring into the blinding light without showing any signs that it might hurt them. Thin, dry lips were parted in exhaustion. Slow, rare breaths were inhaled unevenly. Old cuts, scars and bruises painted his cheeks, now fully exposed to her green eyes. Messy, untamed black hair which crowned his face and completed his degrading portrait. The man was a disaster.

Slaves were the kind of objects normal people would make use of. Without masters, there would be no reason for such people, and their fate would only mean pain, neglect and even death. So, most 'normal people' thought they were doing a favor to slaves by actually putting them to work, whether it was the house chores, taking care of children or elder people, sexual services, hard labor and so on. It only meant those objects became useful. Once the object couldn't be used anymore, the master had the right to replace it with another one. Still, inside Sakura's mind, everything sounded terribly wrong in those very moments. Catching a breath, the young woman threw her back around the corner and ran a hand through her pink, soaked hair.

The man she just saw simply looked exhausted, consumed and neglected. Was it wrong to think of him as a man or as a person? He had two arms, two legs, two eyes and a still beating heart, even if his skin was scarred and his clothes were shredded. Between the two of them there was no difference, expect the look in their eyes. Sakura's green orbs always shone with life and desire to taste every single day to its fullest. Hanseki's dull, black ones were empty. Empty of life, of hope, of emotion. He simply sat there with his eyes in the sun, probably not knowing it was the sun which shone over him, only making his existence known by the absent moves his fingers done when they touched. She almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

Sakura closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled before walking around the corner confident and stared at her new slave with a somehow neutral figure, as she tried to hide her thoughts from him. Hanseki hadn't noticed her.

"Ahem." Sakura cleared her throat. Still nothing. She did it again, but he was still absent.

"You." She called out loud, sounding slightly rougher than intended.

Hanseki turned his head around in a quick move.

And then she saw it.

The anger. And the hate.

Sakura was wrong; the man wasn't as dull as she first believed him to be.

In that very moment, the pink haired woman found herself sitting on her knees, hunched over and pointing a faint light in the face of Hanseki back at the warehouse, moments before his fingers finally managed to touch her throat.

It lasted for only a few seconds before Sakura was back in the hallway of her apartment staring down at her slave. The slave who was staring back with the same look in his eyes.

The anger and the hate.

It amazed her; it truly did. Seeing the man down there, so exposed and so vulnerable, yet with enough power of will to stare like that at her; as if she was his slave and he was about to order her around. Sakura couldn't hold her body from shivering several times; it frightened her a little bit, so be stared at like that. She felt as every single bit of pity she had felt for him just moments ago vanished only to be replaced by anxiety. Hanseki had the darkest eyes she had ever seen. So dark and deep and full of emotion; if she was ever to tell anyone what she thought about his eyes, they would call her crazy. "Slaves can't stare like that! They don't have emotions!" they would say. But Sakura knew it would be wrong, because this slave, this man who was literately down at her feet was indeed transmitting something to her. He despised her, she could feel it. Just like a spider crawling on her skin. Or maybe a snake. Yes, a snake…

Hanseki, the slave with venomous eyes.

Sakura felt a drop of water running down her face. Her wet hair.

"It's morning. Aren't you doing to make some breakfast?" she said while trying to sound authorial and in control of the situation.

Hanseki did nothing; only drop his lids a little bit more over his eyes. But he kept staring. Sakura rose an eyebrow.

"Get up and make me something to eat." She finally said before turning on her heels and returning to her room. Or so it appeared to, because the woman actually waited around the corner far away from hanseki's eyes and listened closely as the man rose with a slight grunt and carried himself towards the kitchen. Once she heard the plates hitting one another she left.

Wow. She had just gave her slave an order. And apparently he had taken it.

The woman closed the door to her room and found herself inhaling deeply . Apparently she had neglected the need of oxygen while in the hallway, so she wasn't denying the air which entered her lungs breath after breath. In her mind Sakura had just done something worth an award. After all she felt strong and in control over the situation. She felt just like a master. Because she had ordered something to a slave and he did as she told him to. The woman had to admit, it wasn't the most noble feeling in the world, but it surely was something.

Suddenly, Sakura felt more confident in her position and in what her life from that point on was going to be like. Hanseki was going to do whatever he would be told, no matter how many defying stares he would give her. After all, he was wearing the collar around his throat and the remote was in her hand. Somehow it also seemed that the following nights will not be as stressful as she originally thought, and probably she wouldn't need to look at both ends of the hallway or lock the bathroom door twice. Many of her friends owned slaves and she never heard any of them complaining about similar matters. Maybe all the stress was only inside her mind.

Maybe Hanseki wasn't truly string like that at her. Maybe he was only string. And she misjudged it for hate.

But even if he hated her, what was he going to do?

Amazing how only one given order managed to change her entire mood. Sakura quickly changed her clothes again, and dried her hair all while humming a random tune slowly. When she exited her room without checking the hallway, she made herself way straight to the kitchen. And what she was somehow unexpected.

For a slave who had barely come out a warehouse, Hanseki done a great job in frying a couple of eggs and serving them nicely besides a few slices of ham and cheese. He even filled up a glass of milk for her, since she had forgot to buy some juice yesterday. Sakura's green eyes quickly scanned even the sink only to find out that he had also done the dishes.

As for Hanseki, he was simply leaning against the wall opposite to the kitchen table, his hands crossed over his stomach, as he watched her figure closely. He was still glaring holes into her, but she did notice that it wasn't as intense as earlier. Or maybe she had just got used to it? Well, it didn't matter, without saying a single word the woman sat herself at her table and started to eat. Her left hand reached for the remote, which was also placed within her reach, and turned on the tv, allowing some random news report to fill the kitchen with some noise.

From the first bite, she tried to find something to muster Hanseki over, but she couldn't find anything. The food wasn't extraordinary, it was only fried eggs with cheese and ham, but it was flawless. Not even a single eggshell crunched between her teeth. Not even a single variation of thickness in the way the cheese was sliced. Not even a little bit of fat on the ham. So, she took bite after bite, enjoying her food and occasionally rising her eyes towards the tv, completely oblivious to her slave's presence.

That until she inwardly crossed stared with him again. In the exact moment when he was biting his lower lip, his eyes glued to the piece of ham in her fork. The piece which was rising slowly to her lips. For a moment she stopped and Hanseki turned his eyes away. But that alone was enough to make the pleasure she was eating her breakfast with vanish just like that. Still, Sakura took that bite and another couple or so, before she allowed her fork to fall on the plate soundly.

"I'm done. You can finish this up and then clean this place." She said while rising from her spot and exiting the kitchen. She didn't dare to share another stare with the slave, but inside her she felt as a little bit of the authority she felt earlier faded away only to be replaced with the pity she felt earlier.

Sakura left about an egg, two slices of cheese and four slices of ham untouched on the plate. As well as half of the glass of milk to go with the rest.

The slave, the man was starving and she was eating so hungrily in front of him. As Sakura sat down on the couch of her living room she couldn't help but feel a funny feeling in her gut, and it wasn't because of the food. The food was just fine; it was the guilt which made her feel horrible. In all her authority rush, she almost forgot that this was a man and he also needed food in order to survive.

So, secretly, Sakura turned on her tv but left it on mute, listening to how the fork she ate with before hit the surface of the plate several more times before the sound of rushing water replaced it. Several minutes later Hanseki followed his master in the living room and seated himself in a corner. Soon enough the sound of the rattling chain which held his wrists together made the woman turn the tv's volume up a little more.

All this time Sakura pretended to be completely oblivious to the man's conditions, but secretly she was listening to every single sound he did. She even stole a glance or two when his eyes were lowered in his lap. After a while Sakura couldn't focus anymore on the tv, so felt it on a random channel while she found herself deep in thought.

This was too much for only one day. Guilt, anxiety, authority, guilt again and now…what the heck was she feeling? Well, whatever it was, it was too much for her. She wasn't used with such a rollercoaster of emotions in only a few hours. Yet again, she found herself wondering what would her life be life from that moment on. Hanseki wasn't the kind of person to stand out and demand attention as she almost forgot about him a few times. But yet again, the thought that she was sharing her space with him, even if he was only a slave made Sakura slightly nervous.

About an hour of blankly watching a boring documentary on tv the woman's salvation finally came. A text message on her cell phone.

**To: Sakura**

**From: Ino**

_Hey there sweetie! Wanna hang out for a while before the courses start? I could sooo use a café latte! Oh, met cute guy! Call me for details! Hinata's coming too!_

Sakura rose an eyebrow; honestly, Ino was among the last people she actually wanted to talk to in those very moments, but for some reason she called the blond back, fixed the time and place, got dressed and left her apartment, leaving Hanseki all alone at home. Maybe because she wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone she actually went out for a little while. Or probably because Hanseki's unnoticeable presence was suffocating her. Either way, the young woman felt uncomfortable comfortable after she locked her apartment and walked off. Probably because she took the remote control with her. Probably because she had hidden all sharp objects and the electroshock gun as well. Or probably because she had simply left her slave to hand out with her girlfriends.

So they would meet, gossip, relax and then attend some courses before going back home and crossing eyes with her slave yet again. But for now Sakura preferred only to think of how nice this little hangout would be, considering how stressed she was about her slave. Probably she would ask for some advice, probably Ino and Hinata will only laugh at her problems and say she only overreacts, hell knew what was going to happen.

Sakura was sure of only one thing. Her life was never going to be the same. What she had just experienced that morning was only the beginning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** another chapter. Still an intro, but from the next chappie some action will take place.

Hanseki = result of rebellion

and Hanseki is actually sasuke :P

Please review. It really motivates me to write more :D


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